After years of gold prospecting, it took less than an hour for one Australian man to hear the glorious squeal of his metal detector in an outback field, alerting him to a gold nugget worth $9,000.
It’s finds like these that are evoking a “frenzy” across many parts of the country, with gold prospectors saying there is still plenty of gold to be found despite misconceptions that the Australian gold rush is a thing of the past.
Gold prospector Jhob Drinkwater hosts ‘family days’ on his land near western NSW mining town Hill End, situated 160 kilometres inland of Sydney’s Blue Mountains. He welcomes others to learn about prospecting and search for gold in the area, and it was during one of Jhob’s events that the visitor discovered the gold nugget at the start of the month.
“One of the people who attended the event went out with a metal detector and within an hour, he found that huge piece of gold,” Jhob told Yahoo News. “I was with a couple of my mates, and we were all in awe. It was a fantastic, beautiful piece of gold.”
Jhob, who jokes he was “born with a gold pan in his hand” since his father was a successful gold prospector, said the town is getting busier and busier as gold prices increase and the discoveries keep coming.
“That field has been metal detected millions of times, and he was lucky enough to walk over it at the right place and bang, that’s $9,000 minimum,” he said. “The diggers in the 1800s found the biggest and easiest stuff, but now, in the 21st century, we’ve got better technology to find the stuff they couldn’t.”
The nugget weighed 1.34 ounces, and more than a third of its weight was pure gold. Yahoo News understands the man doesn’t plan to sell the gold, but instead keep it as a “showpiece”.
More Australians are wanting to try their hand at gold prospecting. Source: Facebook/Jhob’s Gold Panning Tours
Gold price hits record high as many flock to mining towns
The gold price has increased more than 50 per cent in the past 12 months and continues to set records, with it recently hitting US$4,000 an ounce for the first time, according to the World Gold Council. With the gold price soaring and gold exports increasing from Australia, according to the ABC, it’s no surprise more people are heading to mining towns in hope of a gold discovery of their own.
“Gold is going ridiculously well; it’s sending a lot of people into a frenzy,” Jhob said. “A couple of years ago, if I were to go out and find half a gram of gold, which isn’t that much, you wouldn’t get anything. Now, if I were to go out and get the same, that’s well over $100.”
He likened a gold discovery to “finding treasure” and said the hobby definitely appeals to ‘adrenaline junkies’.
“The funnest thing about gold is the potential to find more. It’s an adrenaline addiction. We love the natural high of finding gold because there’s that excitement of being the first one to lay eyes on it,” he said. “The hobby is definitely growing. Five to 10 years ago, it used to be quite niche. Now, it’s almost like fishing.”
Jhob isn’t the only one saying the industry is booming, with gold prospector Tyler Mahoney previously telling Yahoo News the industry has “stood the test of time” and there continues to be an appetite for Australian gold.
“Gold is pretty much in every Australian state, but Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland are the three biggest producers,” she explained. “We’re pretty lucky that we’ve got gold pretty much everywhere, and Australians, we are known for our big gold nuggets.”
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